Death Toll Rises to 7 in West Texas Shooting

A man prays outside of the Medical Center Hospital Emergency room in Odessa, Texas, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019, following a shooting at random in the area of Odessa and Midland. Several people were dead after a gunman who hijacked a postal service vehicle in West Texas shot more than 20 people, authorities said Saturday. The gunman was killed and a few law enforcement officers were among the injured. (Mark Rogers/Odessa American via AP)

ODESSA, Texas (AP) - The Latest on a shooting in West Texas (all times local):

9:15 a.m.

Odessa police say the death toll in a West Texas shooting rampage is now seven after a man stopped by state troopers opened fire and fled, shooting people at random. Police later shot the gunman.

Odessa police spokesman Steve LeSueur said Sunday that at least one person remains in “life-threatening” condition. Authorities have said the gunman shot more than 20 people before being killed by officers outside a movie theater.

Police say the shooter was a white man in his 30s but have not released a name or possible motive.

The shooter hijacked a mail carrier truck on Saturday afternoon and fired at random as he drove in the area of Odessa and Midland.

Odessa police had scheduled a news conference for noon.

___

9 a.m.

The acting U.S. homeland security secretary calls a mass shooting in West Texas that left at least five people dead “extraordinarily concerning” and describes it and other recent mass shootings as a “homeland security threat.”

Kevin McAleenan told ABC’s “This Week” that Homeland Security Department officials will be “following up aggressively” on the West Teas shooting but didn’t want to jump to any conclusions about the causes or motive.

It began with Texas state troopers pulling over a driver for failing to signal a left turn. Police say the driver went on a more than 10-mile shooting rampage Saturday afternoon, hijacking a mail carrier truck and firing at random as he drove in the area of Odessa and Midland. He shot more than 20 people before being killed by officers outside a movie theater.

When asked if recent mass shootings should be considered a homeland security threat, McAleenan said: “They are absolutely a homeland security threat.”

___

1 a.m.

At least five people are dead in West Texas after a man stopped by state troopers for failing to signal a left turn opened fire and fled. Authorities say the gunman shot more than 20 people as he drove before being killed by officers outside a movie theater.

Police in Odessa plan a Sunday morning news conference to update the investigation into the chaotic rampage during which the suspect hijacked a mail carrier truck and fired at random as he drove in the area of Odessa and Midland.

The two cities are in the heart of Texas oil country, more than 300 miles (483 kilometers) west of Dallas.

Police have only identified the gunman as a man in his 30s and have not offered a motive.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.